First Glance
by GhedahrianVampress
Summary: Written as a gift for EsmeAmelia for the Aveyond Winter Gift Exchange


_Hello, Lovelies! So, _me_ and a few friends put on a mini Aveyond Gift Exchange. I chose EsmeAmelia, who requested something Te'ijal X Galahad related, so that's exactly what I'm giving! Anyway, I hope you enjoy it :)_

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Out of all the human cities that Te'ijal had been to since joining Rhen on her quest to save the world from the demon, Ahriman, she had to say that Sedona was by far her favorite. It was such an amusing place. On the day they first arrived, the city streets just happened to be filled with desperate young ladies who were running around like skeletons who had lost their heads, as they went in search of a gown for some nobleman's ball. The group had been caught in the mob of girls, and most of them had been nearly trampled in the rush. Luckily, Te'ijal had been wise enough to transform into a bat and fly out of the way. Lars still had scratch marks on his face from one of the girls who was quite literally clawing her way through.

She was pleased that they had purchased the manor from the old man at the ball. Perhaps it was simply because it was new to her, but she found that there was so much to see and so much to do. There was lots of shopping to do, there was an art gallery to browse through and there was a beach to stroll along. In fact, that was exactly what she was doing right at that moment. Rhen and Dameon had initially come to adopt one of the kittens from the pet shop, but Rhen couldn't resist the urge to play on the beach, so the two of them had ended up dragging the rest of the group out as well.

For the most part, everyone was enjoying themselves. Rhen and Dameon had discarded their shoes and were currently splashing around in the ocean. Lars had fallen asleep in the sand while reading a book, and so Elini had taken the opportunity to cover him in sand from the neck down. Te'ijal laughed at the sight. The green-haired sorcerer wasn't going to be happy when he woke up, but then again he rarely ever was. It seemed that he always had something to complain about.

There were only two real problems with living in Sedona in Te'ijal's mind. First of all, she had to apply sunscreen every day before she went out. While it was a bit annoying, she found that it was worth it. Sunscreen allowed her the opportunity to go out and embark on adventures unlike anything she had ever experienced before. Second of all, she was forced to hide underneath her cloak. As tempted as she was to pull the cloak off every now and then and get a laugh by scaring unsuspecting humans, Rhen had told her to keep a low profile, and so that's what she was doing. However, that didn't mean that she couldn't have a bit of fun while keeping herself hidden.

"I'm going to go see what else I can find in the city," she told the others. "I'll meet you back at the manor."

They all merely nodded their heads in reply, far too busy enjoying their own forms of amusement.

Leaving the beach behind, Te'ijal started back into the main part of the city, passing by cheese merchant after cheese merchant, all who seemed strangely eager to sell her their different types of cheese. Te'ijal knew what cheese was, but she didn't know that there were so many kinds. Although she was confused as to why anybody would want so much cheese, she did find it amusing. The whole city seemed to be obsessed with it.

She had reached the crossroad and was about to enter the shopping district and do a bit of browsing when she suddenly heard some curious sounds coming from the nobles district. She could hear people cheering, mingled with the sound of swords clashing. It was as if there was a fight going on. This definitely caught Te'ijal's interest. She always enjoyed watching a good fight.

Without hesitation, she followed the sounds and before long she had found herself in what appeared to be a practice yard. There were a handful of people scattered about on the sidelines cheering on the two competitors, most of them being young girls. Making her way over to join one of the groups of girls, she watched the fight carefully. There were two men, dressed in full suits of armor. Te'ijal couldn't see their faces due to the fact that they were wearing helmets, but she could clearly see that one of them was way more muscular than the other. This man had such broad shoulders that it seemed as though he might be one of those ancient heroes that she had heard about. The ones that were half god and half-human.

With every lunge and swipe that was made by the broad-shouldered knight, she found herself growing more and more impressed. She had never seen a single man, vampire or human, fight with such skill and strength as this one did. It came as no surprise when the other man's sword suddenly flew from his hand. Everyone began to cheer again as the broad-shouldered man sheathed his sword and reached out to shake his opponent's hand as a sign of good swordsmanship.

After the two men had shaken hands, they removed their helmets and turned to wave to the crowd, and as they did so, time seemed to stop for Te'ijal. Her eyes were glued to that of the victor. Not only was he strong and muscular, but he was handsome too. His curly blonde hair shimmered like gold. His eyes were deep like the ocean. Te'ijal felt as though she could drown in them. And his scent … She couldn't help but lick her lips. His blood smelled sweeter than any other.

Turning to one of the girls beside her, she asked. "Pardon me, but would you happen to know who that handsome blonde warrior is?"

The girl's eyes widened. "You don't know? You must not be from around here."

Te'ijal shook her head in reply.

"That is Sir Galahad Teomes. He's the captain of the king's royal guard, and as you probably just saw, he's the strongest warrior in the land," the girl explained.

"Is he married?" Te'ijal asked.

"Don't waste your time. There are plenty of women who are dying to marry him, but no one has ever managed to catch his attention," the girl replied, a hint of frustration evident in her tone. "Sometimes it seems that his only love is upholding the law."

Te'ijal giggled. He definitely sounded intriguing. So intriguing that she found herself wanting to know more, but she doubted that the girl would be able to tell her much more than what she already had. Besides, Te'ijal got the impression that this girl was one of the women who wanted to marry him. She imagined that, in the girl's eyes, she was nothing more than a potential rival. Maybe she was … She hadn't quite decided yet, but she couldn't deny the fact that she did want to see more of this man.

"You have given me valuable information, and for that, you have my gratitude," she replied. "I shall bother you no more."

She then turned and took her leave. However, she couldn't help but glance back at the blonde warrior one last time. She didn't know how or when she was going to manage to see him again, but she was determined that she would, one way or another. She knew his name, and where to find him. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out a way to properly meet. With that in mind, she finally tore her eyes away from him and hurried back towards the manor. She had some planning to do.


End file.
